By Andrew Warshaw
February 17 – Chris Eaton (pictured), the former Interpol crime-buster whose blueprint to weed out match fixing and other forms of football corruption was hailed as a major breakthrough, is leaving his post as FIFA’s head of security to join the world’s first non-profit-making organisation specialising in safety and security across all sports.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 17 – Manchester City have protested to UEFA over alleged racist abuse aimed at their players during last night’s 2-1 Europa League victory at FC Porto.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 16 – Steve Lawrence (pictured), the architect who who wrote the original masterplan for the London Olympics and Paralympics, has identified himself as the mystery figure behind the anonymous complaint to the European Union Commission which scuppered West Ham United’s hopes of moving to the Olympic Stadium after the Games.
By David Gold
February 20 – Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has claimed that the London 2012 Olympic Stadium “is not fit for football.”
By Andrew Warshaw
February 16 – The reign of corruption-tainted Brazilian powerbroker Ricardo Teixeira looks set to end after months of growing pressure.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 16 – Funds donated for the Haiti earthquake fund, but which never arrived, were paid into a bank account controlled by former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner (pictured), according to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF).
By David Gold
February 16 – Regional powers Australia and Japan have been pitted together in the qualifying round of the inaugural Under-22 Asian Cup following the draw at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur.
By David Gold
February 16 – Bakcell, one of Azerbaijan’s leading mobile phone providers, has been confirmed as the third company so far committed to support the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, being held later this year from September 22 to October 13.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 16 – A High Court judge is expected to decide tomorrow what action to take against former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner over the long-running 2006 World Cup payments dispute.
By David Gold
February 16 – Former World Cup referee Lu Jun has been sentenced to a five-and-a-half year jail term for involvement in match-fixing in China.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 16 – Poland’s new $641 million (£409 million/€493 million) National Stadium, the jewel in the country’s Euro 2012 preparations, may not be ready to stage its showpiece inaugural fixture, a friendly against Portugal on February 29.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – Administrators in charge of Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers are confident the club will not go out of business, citing “very good progress” within the first 24 hours of taking over the running the 54-times league champions.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – FIFA’s hopes of finally striking a deal with Brazil over the crucial law governing the 2014 World Cup have suffered yet another setback after a Brazilian Congressional Commission delayed a vote.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – FIFA has warned Argentina that provocatively renaming its domestic championship after the General Belgrano battleship sunk by Britain during the 1982 Falklands War could breach its statutes.
Here we go again.
England needs a new football manager, setting off a new cycle of speculation, unrealistically burgeoning expectations and disillusionment, as surely as, well 55,000 Twitter-users follow the Anfield cat.
Actually, the speculation bit looks like being much diminished this time, since everyone thinks they know the new man’s identity: step forward Harry Redknapp, cheekie-chappie manager of Tottenham Hotspur, surprise package of the 2011-12 English Premier League season.